Rent Seeking: what this star will be
Effort spent winning a bigger slice instead of baking a bigger pie.
By Constellate · 9 September 2026 · the short form
Rent Seeking is a star on the Constellate sky: placed by meaning, named, and connected to the stars around it. This is the short form of its post: the line it carries, the area we colour Politics, and what stands beside it today.
The line it carries on the sky: Effort spent winning a bigger slice instead of baking a bigger pie.
What stands beside it
The stars nearest to it are Overproduction of Elites, The Invisible Hand, The Median Voter and The Iron Law of Oligarchy. When Rent Seeking opens, the conversation will land it among them, with a line drawn to each idea it touches.
Ask for this star
Every star is lit by demand. Ask for Rent Seeking and it moves up the list; when it opens, this post becomes the full essay. The open stars beside it can be walked today, and the first concept of every course is free.